Armed guards receive additional back-to-school training with simulations

In preparation for the upcoming school year, 73 armed guards participated in a back-to-school training program at Keiser University Pembroke Pines on Thursday, using a training simulator to practice responding to extreme scenarios.

In a darkened classroom, two armed guards held pistols that pointed a laser at a screen projected in front of them. With more than a thousand different scenarios, the guards had to handle active shooter video calls, communicate with a partner and make quick “shoot or don’t shoot” decisions, according to Kevin Nosowicz, Broward County Public Schools Police Chief.

After each scenario, Detective Carl Schlosser discussed the approach the guardians took in their response, and then the correct ways to handle each scenario.

“We asked him to drop the gun. He didn’t, so I eliminated the target,” said armed guard Shalon Jackson, explaining his reaction to a shooter scenario.

Broward school armed guards Shalon Jackson, left, and Franco Fernandez train with the MILO shooting simulator at Keiser University in Pembroke Pines on Thursday, as Keiser University Criminal Justice Program Director Carlos Vesco, second from left, and Broward County Public Schools Police Detective Carl Schlosser look on. The multiple interactive learning objective system can simulate active shooter situations so guards can practice in what feels like real life. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Broward County, which is the sixth-largest school district in the country, employs “more tutors than any other state,” Nosowicz said. “And the program has only gotten stronger.”

Led by Broward School Police, the training included instruction on firearms use, tactics and de-escalation, with the goal of keeping Broward County schools safe. The simulation training is in addition to the annual training that tutors receive two weeks before the start of the school year.

“Law enforcement is constantly evolving. The more you train, the better you will get,” said Robert Ung, a retired law enforcement officer with more than 20 years of experience.

The guardian program was created in 2018 in the wake of the Parkland shooting. Before that, only sworn law enforcement officers were allowed to carry guns on school campuses, but the state Legislature passed a law requiring every school to have at least one armed officer per school, and guardians were an option.

Last year, the school district considered phasing out the tutor program and creating a full-fledged police department, but the school board rejected that idea. They could be used in more schools because cities like Pembroke Pines say they can’t afford to provide officers at the current rate the district pays.

The armed guards are men and women in bright yellow shirts, equipped with the skills to act as the first line of defense in the school district’s efforts to protect students and staff. They include veterans, former law enforcement officers and former security guards.

“I saw this as an opportunity to protect people, protect children and protect the future of our country,” said Dwayne Jiles, a 20-year veteran of the Army’s military police. “It’s very important to me because I have children too and for them, I would want someone who is willing to sacrifice for others.”

Broward Schools armed guard Armando Acosta trains with the MILO shooting simulator at Keiser University in Pembroke Pines on Thursday. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

In partnership with Keiser University, Broward School Police used the new Multiple Interactive Learning Objectives Shooting Simulator for Thursday’s training. The MILO system, a simulation-based learning tool, is designed for critical incident training, de-escalation tactics, decision support, traditional tactical judgment training and firearms proficiency.

Jiles, who will be entering his seventh year as a tutor and has children of his own, has seen firsthand how tutors benefit the school system.

“Kids come to you, they rely on you,” Jiles said. “They let you know everything that’s going on.”

Broward Schools Armed Guard Simona Burges trains with the MILO shooting simulator at Keiser University in Pembroke Pines on Thursday, as Keiser University Criminal Justice Program Director Carlos Vesco, center, and Broward County Public Schools Police Detective Carl Schlosser look on. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)